Abstract

Since the late 1950s, and especially during the 1960s, African countries became independent one after another, following an era of colonial rule. Only a few countriesmade the transition in a relatively peaceful manner (for example, Botswana and Zambia); and only a few of the newly independent states became politically stable countries in the long term (for example, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana). In numerous cases, tribal/ethnic differences, partisan political leadership, class and élite conflicts, and coups d'état became major destabilising factors (for example, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) and Nigeria).